


Seven Days of Diakko

by akkordianswift



Series: Seven Days of Diakko [1]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood Friends, F/F, Handholding, Hurt/Comfort, beware of the angst, diakko week 2020, it's gonna be painful, rainy day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-24
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:36:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26084317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akkordianswift/pseuds/akkordianswift
Summary: Diakko Week 2020 - seven days, seven different prompts.
Relationships: Diana Cavendish & Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari
Series: Seven Days of Diakko [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894810
Comments: 39
Kudos: 181





	1. invisible string

**Author's Note:**

> My first time participating in Diakko Week. Whoo!
> 
> All chapters will be titled with a Taylor Swift song because I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Diana goes through childhood, loss, and puberty alongside Akko and realizes that the girl across the street was what her heart was yearning for all along.
> 
> Day 1: Childhood Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t remember Diana and Akko’s age when they went to the same Chariot show so I made it up.

_And isn't it just so pretty to think_

_all along there was some_

_invisible string_

_tying you to me?_

**_invisible string_ ** _– Taylor Swift (folklore, 2020)_

When Diana was five, she saw her for the first time.

They bumped into each other right after Shiny Chariot’s show. Diana was too pumped with adrenaline and excitement after seeing her idol to notice and avoid the girl barreling towards her.

Their bodies collided with each other’s and although the impact hurt a little, Diana had no time to whine in pain because the girl who just bumped into her was giggling and already getting to her feet to offer a hand to her.

Diana took the proffered hand without a word, too dazed from the suddenness of events to say or do anything else at all.

“Gomen-nasai!” the girl with red eyes apologized before smiling widely at Diana and running away.

Although their interaction was brief, Diana felt as if there was something about the girl calling to her.

Something she couldn’t possibly explain in her age. Something she didn’t understand. Something… supernatural that even magic couldn’t quite describe.

But the feeling was there. A calling of sorts. A pull.

As if there was a string connecting her to the girl with the Shiny Chariot hat and bright red eyes.

The day they flew back to England was the day Diana’s chest began aching.

* * *

When Diana was seven, she was already living with constant chest pains.

It was minor and didn’t really bother her most times. The ache was more of a throb mixed in with a feeling as if there was something missing _within_ her that Diana couldn’t quite grasp.

Diana didn’t even know what was missing but it still _ached._ Her heart was yearning for something she didn’t even have a name for.

She was too young to understand what it was.

* * *

When Diana was nine, she saw her again.

And not in Japan this time.

The girl with the Shiny Chariot hat and bright red eyes was their new neighbor.

She was jumping and clapping in front of the white picket fenced house that sat directly across the Cavendish’s.

Diana didn’t know why the girl was so happy about moving into the small town of Blytonbury. It was always so gloomy here and the yard was too small compared to what she was accustomed to. Diana missed the wide space of their family manor in Wedinburgh.

But the girl with the brunette hair was beaming up at her parents as they surveyed their new home, piles of boxes sitting behind them on the sidewalk.

She looked so… happy, exuding so much joy as if she was made of glitters and happiness and warm sunshine.

When the girl looked over her father’s side, wide red eyes met curious sapphire and crinkled.

The girl waved at Diana with a wide grin.

Diana eyed her for a moment before tentatively raising her own hand to wave back.

Diana didn’t realize then that the constant aching in her chest finally stopped.

* * *

When Diana was eleven, Akko was her only friend.

Shy, cautious, too polite Diana Cavendish was friends with extroverted, joyous, clumsy Atsuko ‘Akko’ Kagari.

Reluctant as Diana was to be friends with anyone in their neighborhood, Akko wormed her way in into Diana’s home – and heart.

Two years after the Kagaris moved in across the Cavendishes, Akko was practically seen as Bernadette’s adoptive daughter with how much she sticks around Diana.

They were attached to the hip.

Sister from another mother, as their moms would always say.

Akko would always drag Diana into some sort of mischief and Diana would always find herself trying to stop her friend but end up enjoying their ‘adventures’ anyway.

They were always laughing, practicing magic, and talking about Shiny Chariot.

It was something Diana didn’t know she craved – an ever present happiness, a friend, a confidant.

Perhaps this was what her heart was yearning for.

* * *

When Diana was twelve, she lost her mother.

It was quick. Painless. Her mother was breathing one moment and gone the next.

Diana sobbed against her mother’s chest until they had to take her away.

Akko found her on her knees, on the floor, the sheet that covered her mother grasped tightly in her arms.

Akko comforted her until her wails turned to quiet sobs, until Diana’s throat was dry and there were no tears left in her eyes.

Akko stayed until Diana was too tired to stay up, empty sapphire eyes lost and grieving and unable to stay open for a second longer.

Akko never lost a parent before.

Diana just lost both of hers.

No words were exchanged between them when Diana awoke in Akko’s arms the next morning.

And Akko stayed with her throughout the wake and the burial, holding her hand or just staying close whenever she could.

The ache in Diana’s chest was back but this time, it was different.

This time, it left her hollow.

* * *

When Diana was fourteen, Akko had to go back to Japan.

It wasn’t permanent and she would only be gone for three weeks at most but Diana had been so used to Akko’s presence that her departure was making her chest ache _again._

It didn’t make sense to her. She already made peace with her mother’s death.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” was Akko’s promise. “You won’t even notice I’m gone.”

Diana didn’t dare tell Akko that she was already missing her. “Come home safe,” she said instead. She didn’t need to say anything else for she knew Akko understood the meaning behind the statement anyway.

Akko knew everything about her at this point.

“Always.”

And as Akko’s waving arm grew smaller and smaller as the car drove away, the ache in Diana’s chest throbbed harder.

It didn’t fade until Akko came rushing into her arms exactly three weeks later.

* * *

When Diana was sixteen, she held Akko’s hand as they stared up at the Leyline.

“This is it,” Akko murmured from beside her, eyes wide with both excitement and fear.

Diana responded by gripping Akko’s hand tighter. “Ready?”

Akko looked at her and gave her a wide grin. “Aren’t I always?”

As they lifted off the ground with Akko’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist, it was then Diana realized and fully understood that the throbbing in her chest will never come back for as long as she’s with Akko.

Because her heart had already found what was missing all along. It knew it didn’t need anything else.


	2. Untouchable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akko doesn’t back away from challenges but she thinks wanting and trying to hold Diana’s hand might just be the challenge she won’t win.
> 
> Day 2 Cuddles/Handholding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank my awesome beta reader, Ryu_No_Me, for going over this one quickly :)

_ Untouchable, burning brighter than the sun, _

_ And when you’re close I feel like coming undone _

**_Untouchable_ ** _ – Taylor Swift (Fearless, 2008) _

Let it be known that Akko Kagari doesn't shy away from challenges.

Especially when it comes from Diana Cavendish.

Her girlfriend.

Girl… friend.

Like, they’re actually a… a…  _ couple. _

Who can hold hands while walking, cuddle when it’s cold, kiss the other whenever they want to, go out on dates during weekends, and all other stuff that couples do.

Ah! She gets warm just thinking about it.

Except all they’ve done is smile at each other and – and that’s about it.

Saying that both she and Diana are each other’s first can explain the abundance of girlfriend-y things happening between them – or the lack thereof.

Yes, she’s learned how to properly use ‘lack thereof’ but she has yet to hold Diana’s hand or look at her for more than ten seconds without having her nose spew out blood.

The thing is, Diana isn't affectionate. She's Diana. Prim, proper, never a hair out of place Diana.

She doesn't blush or stutter or trip on her shoelaces on her way to her morning class when she’s already half an hour late.

She is graceful. Like... Like a ballerina or something as elegant. Like a swan maybe.

Point is, Diana seems to have everything figured out. From their academics to her relationship with Akko.

Which basically leaves Akko in a dump.

She doesn't know much about their daily lessons, much more about relationships. She's clueless.

Cluelessness paired with the want to hold Diana's hand and snuggle up to her and Akko is drawing a blank.

She doesn't know how to bring up the topic to Diana. Should they even have a discussion about it? Or should Akko just act based on instincts?

Ah! She hates it. She doesn't know what to do.

So, naturally, she asks for advice from her friends.

Which, in hindsight, is a bad idea.

Akko goes to Amanda first. She teases Akko less now that she finally confessed her feelings for Diana so Akko thought it would be okay to ask her for advice.

“Trap her and then give her hugs,” is Amanda’s advice. “Lots of them. And then suddenly deprive her of them. Make her want to snuggle and hold you.”

Taunting Akko to confess to Diana doesn’t mean Amanda is a love guru, though.

Sucy isn’t helpful either – although Akko should’ve known that already. “Give her this potion. She'll be paralysed for an hour.”

“An hour?” Akko exclaims, eyes almost bulging out of their sockets. The last thing she wants to do is to hurt her girlfriend!

Sucy raised one visible brow at her. “You get to cuddle her for an hour without protest. Isn’t that what you want?”

Which leads Akko to turn to Lotte instead. Hopefully she’s better at this.

“Read volume forty five of Night Fall, chapter twenty-seven, page three hundred twenty. Paragraph ten says something about…”

_ Nope. _

Akko doesn’t even hear the rest from Lotte.

Jazminka offers a recipe lesson that Akko doesn’t even know what for. She does get some free cookies in the process that help her think, so she doesn’t completely consider the conversation wasted.

Stanbot and Constanze only look at her with a blank expression.

Mou, her friends aren't helpful.

So, Akko goes to the next two people who'll probably shame her but this is for Diana! Anything for Diana. Even if it means she has to swallow her pride and knock on the blue team’s room.

“She's not affectionate with anyone,” is Hannah’s immediate answer when Akko manages to ask the question burning in her mouth. “That's just her.”

That isn’t helpful either!

Barbara crosses her arms, dark eyes suspicious. “We're surprised she's even dating you.”

Akko knits her brows at that, mildly offended even if she knows by now that this is just how the two of them talk. “Hey, what's that supposed to mean?”

Instead of answering or adding fuel to the mocking fire Barbara started, Hannah tells her, “Diana won't blast you out of the sky if you try to hold her hand.”

“She can't even be in the sky, Hannah.”

Their laughs follow Akko until she's out of their dorm room.

Nothing. She has nothing.

She doesn’t want to go to Ursula-sensei. Everyone knows she can’t even sort out her feelings for Croix-sensei. She won’t be much help to Akko’s predicament. Ursula-sensei can help save the world but she’ll probably be as useless as Akko when it comes to relationships.

So, Akko does what she can. She sulks.

That’s how Diana sees her.

Out in the courtyard and sitting alone on the bench by the fountain just as the sun sets on the horizon.

_ What a letdown.  _ What kind of girlfriend is she? She can’t even think of a way to hold Diana’s hand without her mind exploding at the possibilities of doing such a thing.

“Akko?”

Akko whips her head around to see Diana looking at her curiously. “Hey,” she greets without her usual enthusiasm. Don’t get her wrong, she tried but her effort fell flat.

Just like her plan to hold Diana’s hand.  _ Ugh! _

Maybe she can consult the books in the library instead? Huh, she hasn’t thought of that. That’s where Diana gets all her knowledge so the library probably has the answers she needs.

_ Maybe there’s a relationship guide there, too. Hmm. _

Diana doesn’t say anything until she’s seated beside Akko. They’re so close to each other that Akko can feel the body heat coming off from Diana. “Is everything alright?” she asks.

It takes a moment for Akko’s brain to register the words. “I – hai!”

Sapphire eyes appraise her and Akko knows she messed up. Diana always knows whenever she is lying – Akko doesn’t know how she does, she just  _ does. _

She’s still debating with herself if it’s cute or troublesome when Diana finally says, “What’s wrong, Akko?”

_ Busted. _

Akko rubs the back of her head, trying – and failing – to buy herself some time to think of a believable excuse. “I, uh…”

“Are you… perhaps, regretting your decision to date me?”

The words are spoken with such sadness and fear that Akko doesn’t think twice before she reaches for Diana’s arms to firmly but gently grip them in her hands.

Diana’s reaction shifts from worried to shock and blushing in the span of a second.

“Of course not!” Akko all but shouts at her girlfriend’s face. She can’t let Diana think that she’s regretting being her girlfriend. That’s like saying Akko regrets going to Luna Nova. “Anyone would be lucky to date you.  _ I  _ am lucky to date you. I mean, have you seen you? You’re like the best witch in school and I say that with all honesty. Why do you think I thought of you as my rival? Because you’re the  _ best! _ I just – it’s just –”

Seeing the sudden burst of energy lose its momentum, Diana lightly shakes off the grip on her arm to cup Akko’s cheek. “What is it that’s bothering you, love?”

See, here’s the thing, Diana calls her love or darling depending on her mood but they have yet to hold hands or cuddle! See the problem?

“I just – I’m – I don’t know what to say.” Akko drops her head and sighs. Maybe she should’ve listened to Lotte instead. Nightfall probably has some legit advice for relationships. She doesn’t  _ know  _ but better than nothing, right?

“It’s just me,” Diana tells her, smile so soft Akko can feel herself  _ melting  _ right there on the bench.

Diana is… beautiful. Like so,  _ so  _ beautiful it takes Akko’s breath away.

Sure, her hair looks like a cabbage  most of the time sometimes but Akko has never seen someone rock that hair color as much as Diana does. Her aunt and cousins hold no competition. Mou, not even Beatrix carried the hair color like Diana does.

Point is, Diana’s always been beautiful. Elegant. Graceful. Like a ballerina! But she’s also cute and so utterly charming that Akko just –

She just –

She can’t resist!

“IwannaholdyourhandbutI’mtooshytoask!”

Confused, Diana only tilts her head to the side, some of her hair falling on her face. It’s a little messy but  _ kuso, kuso, kuso,  _ Diana is damn pretty! It’s so unfair. “I – forgive me, darling, but can you repeat that please?”

The darling does it. “I WANT TO HOLD YOUR HAND!”

Silence engulfs them. If Akko focuses hard enough, she can probably hear the sounds of boos and birds chirping nearby.

And then a slow smile makes its way to Diana’s face. The next words that fall from her lips are not what Akko is expecting at all. “Akko, all you have to do is ask. By the Nines, you can do it  _ even  _ without permission. We're dating, are we not?”

Surprised that Diana isn’t breaking up with her because of her stupidity and lack of knowledge about dating, Akko nods and says the first thing that comes to her mind. “Yes, of course we are! You’re my g-girlfriend!”

Diana doesn’t say anything else. She doesn’t have to because the next moment, the hand cupping Akko’s cheek reaches for her  _ hand  _ instead and  _ kuso,  _ Akko feels as if she’s going to faint.

_ It’s happening! _

Slowly, as if not to startle her, Diana takes Akko’s hand in hers  _ and  _ entwines their fingers with each other’s.

_ Mou,  _ she’s holding Diana’s hand.

_ Diana  _ is holding  _ her  _ hand.

Akko swears her soul leaves her body for a few seconds.

When the shock subsides and she regains consciousness, the first thing Akko notices is how  _ soft  _ Diana’s hand is. Like – like cotton. Or a down feather! As if holding it too tightly will cause it to wrinkle and break. Like she has to handle it with a lot of care. And Akko can definitely do that – handling Diana’s hand with care. Because she cares.  _ A lot. _

The second thing is the warmth. Akko can only compare it to being close to a fire or a heater during winter. It’s the kind of heat that doesn’t burn but  _ soothes.  _ Makes you feel warm from the outside and then it seeps through your skin so you’re warm inside, too.

The last thing she takes note of is the slight blushing evident on Diana’s cheeks.

She’s… _ blushing? _

The last time Akko has seen her blush was when they confessed their feelings for each other at the tower weeks ago.

Seeing it right now, though, makes Akko wonder. Is Diana feeling… embarrassed? Why would she be? Diana is, like, the most confident and smartest girl Akko knows! Why would she be shy all of sudden when…

… when they’re holding hands.

Maybe she wanted to hold Akko’s hand, too?

_ Oh. _

She wasn’t the only one wanting to do that? If that’s the case then…

“Diana?”

At the call of her name, Diana lifts her eyes – which are, at that point, staring at their entwined hands – to meet Akko’s gaze. “Yes?”

“You wanted to hold my hand, too, didn’t you?” she teases with a sly smirk, confident now that the worse has come to pass.

Akko doesn’t expect the pink blush on Diana’s cheeks to become a shade of red. She looks like a strawberry with leaves on top!

_ Kawaii. _

“Of course, I wanted to,” Diana admits softly, eyes downcast. “I realize we haven’t been doing a lot of things a couple does together. I didn’t want to be presumptuous or breach boundaries and so I just let it be. I am quite content with what we have, after all. But then you said those words and I…”

Oh.

_ Oh. _

Of course! They’ve been dating for two weeks now and Akko only realizes then that Diana wants to hold her hand too! And maybe more!

No wonder she’s been looking at Akko’s hands a lot lately.

She had the urge too!

So, maybe, Diana isn’t as knowledgeable about relationships just like Akko.

But that’s alright. They can navigate this – together.

“I love you, Diana.”

The unexpected statement catches Diana off guard and the hand holding Akko’s tightens its grip.  _ That feels really nice. Maybe she uses lots of lotion on her hands.  _ “I love you, too, Akko.”

“I can hold your hand whenever?” Akko asks, a little giddy now that this hurdle is out of the way. Imagine the things she can do now that she can hold Diana’s hands!

Walking around the courtyard, going to their classes, maybe she can even exchange seats with Barbara at some point so they can hold hands in class, too!

Mou, it’s so exciting. Lots of possibilities!

Diana nods, meek now with her gaze landing everywhere but at Akko. Her mind is probably going into overdrive with all the sweetness of their conversation. “Of course.”

“No need to ask?”

“No need to ask,” Diana confirms and this time, she lifts her head and catches Akko’s eyes. “You can hold my hand anytime you want.”

“Good.” Akko grins before reaching for Diana’s other hand and entwining their fingers.  _ This  _ is absolutely the best thing  _ ever.  _ “Because I’m holding onto you for as long as you let me.”

The smile Diana returns makes Akko’s heart flutter and beat wildly in her chest.

“Then don’t ever let go.”


	3. Come In With the Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana doesn’t hate the rain but the memories it evokes. Akko doesn’t know that but she changes the meaning of rainy days for Diana with her presence and hot chocolate. 
> 
> Day 3 Rainy Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It got a little sad.
> 
> Thank you, Ryu_No_Me for beta reading as always :)

_Just know I’m right here hopin’_

_That you’ll come in with the rain._

**_Come In With The Rain_** _–_ _Taylor Swift (Fearless, 2008)_

It was raining when her mother died.

Diana remembers the day as clear as her reflection in the mirror.

They knew it was a long time coming. Her mother’s health was declining and it wasn’t long until it entirely crumbled.

Diana hadn’t expected it to come so soon, though.

She was awfully young when her father died of unknown circumstances. She was only twelve when she became an orphan.

All the healing in the world – with or without the help of actual magic – and descending from a healing family of witches no less, and still, they couldn’t do anything for her mother.

It is one of the reasons why Diana wants to restore magic in the world – to help save people who aren’t supposed to leave their loved ones yet.

And why Diana hates the rain so much.

It isn’t as if it’s the rain _per se_ as much as it’s the _memories_ that the rain _evokes._

The memories of how she clutched her mother’s hand until it went limp in her little ones, of how Anna had to carry her away so Aunt Daryl could have the body taken care of, of how alone she felt afterwards, of how she felt as if a part of her died alongside her mother.

Usually, she manages on rainy days just fine. She is eighteen now and no matter how bitter the memories are, she has made peace with her mother’s death.

However, this year, a thunderstorm just happened to fall on the day of her mother’s death anniversary.

To say that it transports Diana back to the day of her mother’s passing is an understatement.

Even so, she has the privilege to spend the day alone.

With the thunderstorm, outdoor classes have been suspended and the ones indoors have already finished earlier.

Hannah and Barbara are spending the rest of the day with the purple team. They said they’re working on an assignment together but Diana knows it’s a farce. They respect her privacy and need for seclusion on her mother’s death anniversary.

She’s at least grateful for that.

So, one can imagine her shock when the door to their dorm room bursts open, the sound booming in the quiet of the room.

She isn’t expecting anyone and Hannah and Barbara know better than to slam the door like that, so Diana has her wand out and poised when she peeks her head from around the bookshelf, ready to strike if the intruder proves to be an enemy.

“Diana!”

At the sound of the jolly voice, Diana drops her hand, the magic beaming at the tip of her wand dissipating. She should’ve known it’s her.

“Akko,” she says, coming around the bookshelf to show herself to her friend.

Friend being an operative word.

They’re more of… close friends nowadays, spending a lot of time together despite being in different teams. Ever since the missile crisis, things between them got better and while Akko is still the bumbling, clumsy, loud student witch, she has become somewhat more… contained. Matured, even.

It also helps that Akko is no longer deemed as the clueless student who hails from a non-witch family but rather, the student witch who saved the world from eternal doom. The way everyone has acknowledged what she’s done certainly boosted Akko’s morale and further motivated her to become the next Shiny Chariot.

Diana isn’t blind to see the other… physical changes Akko’s gone through as well. She’s a bit taller now and has lost the baby fat on her cheeks, making her face more pronounced and her eyes to appear… more expressive and brighter. Not that – not that Diana notices. Of course not!

It’s just… it’s uncanny how quickly time goes by – it’s like scooping sand with her hands and watching it slip through her fingers.

“Diana?”

Diana blinks to see Akko leaning close to her, head tilted to the side and crimson eyes studying Diana’s face.

At their proximity, Diana steps back and coughs into her fist. Despite being closer now, Akko’s easy way around affection still makes Diana’s heart flutter in her chest and pulse quicken. It’s… odd but she chalks it up to how unused she is to any sort of physical intimacy or affection. “My apologies. What did you say?” she asks once she’s gathered her bearings.

“I asked if you wanted to join us in our room. We’re having a hot chocolate kind of night!” Akko beams, flapping her arms around not unlike a bird.

No matter how old she gets, her enthusiasm for little things doesn’t wane. It’s endearing, Diana can admit that much. It’s one of the things that make Akko… well, Akko.

Diana looks at the clock on the wall and sees it’s hardly three in the afternoon. “It’s only three,” she points out. “It can hardly be called a chocolate kind of night when it’s only afternoon.”

Akko rolls her eyes in playful exasperation. She’s done it a lot since the two of them became close friends that Diana already knows when Akko is teasing her. “It’s raining. It looks like it’s already nighttime. Besides, details, details! Classes are suspended. Might as well enjoy it!”

Diana lets a small smile play at her lips. She should’ve expected that response. “Thank you for the invitation but I’m afraid I have more… important matters to attend to.”

“Yeah? Like what? Don’t tell me you’ll be doing assignments like it’s not –”

“It’s my mother’s death anniversary today.”

The thing about getting closer to Akko is that it also broke Diana’s walls and defenses, enough for her to blurt out the first thought in her mind without even thinking about it first.

It makes her feel relieved sometimes because then she doesn’t have to hide and keep herself in check.

Most times, however, she feels idiotic for speaking without thinking when it isn’t how she ought to be around other people.

Especially at this moment.

She didn’t want anyone’s pity or sympathy, not even Akko’s – as pure and nice as she is. Diana just… she just needs to have her space, the same way that she always deals with her mother’s death anniversary.

It’s the most effective way she has found to deal with the lingering pain.

The revelation has Akko gaping at her, mouth opening and closing like Professor Pisces would be if she were left out of her bowl for too long.

“I want to spend the day alone please,” requests Diana in a quiet voice before hanging her head. She doesn’t want to witness the pity she surely will see in Akko’s eyes at her unexpected revelation.

Akko stands there with a still shocked expression before she nods, turns around, and walks out of the room without another word.

* * *

After the unanticipated visit from Akko, Diana expects there will be no more surprises for the day. She wants to spend the rest of the afternoon in tranquility and reminisce about her mother. That isn’t too much to ask for, is it? It’s been six years since she’s been gone and Diana simply wants to remember the times she spent with her mother – lest she forgets them.

And she _doesn’t_ want to forget them.

She’s in for another surprise, however.

Diana is sitting on the couch and has a photo album filled with pictures of her and her mother in her lap when Akko comes in with a blanket slung over one shoulder and two thermoses in her arms – just after half an hour since she left.

When Akko’s crimson eyes land on Diana’s questioning gaze, she gives her a smile. “Hot chocolate kind of night,” she says by way of explanation. “But with just the two of us so it’s quieter.”

The thing about Akko is that she _never_ fails to surprise Diana. Even during a day like this. She should’ve gotten used to it by now after years of being friends with Akko, however, she isn’t. And perhaps that will never happen because it’s Akko and she will always, _always_ exceed Diana’s expectations of her.

Diana wants to be alone, she’s spent the last years being alone during a time like this but perhaps she can make an exception today.

She also doesn’t have the heart to tell Akko to go away after doing such a kind gesture.

They’re friends, are they not?

And Diana doesn’t want to play favorites but Akko… Akko will always be an exception to her self-proclaimed rules – whether she admits that to herself or not.

With a sigh, Diana pats the empty seat beside her and it’s all the invitation Akko needs before she grins and all but runs to sit on the couch, as if afraid that Diana might revoke the invitation if she were too slow.

Once she’s settled, Akko places the thermoses in Diana’s hands with a beam she knows Diana can never say no to before she fixes the blanket so that it falls over both hers and Diana’s shoulders. The cover cocoons them together and Diana can feel a growing heat in her cheeks at how their thighs are practically pressed against each other’s.

She reminds herself that this is Akko. _Just Akko._ But her brain somehow doesn’t understand the signal because she feels even _warmer_ than before. She doesn’t understand it.

Trying to contain the blush she feels she’s sporting, Diana asks, “Akko… where did you get cocoa?” She hopes Akko’s answer will distract her.

“Trolls are nice,” is Akko’s automatic answer. She grins at Diana again – the action making Diana’s stomach flip for some reason – before she takes one thermos from her. “They’re my friends. They give me food or sweets whenever they can.”

Again, no surprise there. Akko has a certain way with others. With her easy smile and cheery personality, she can easily win someone over. And now that she knows how to work her unusual charm on others? It’s gotten even harder to resist her requests.

That or Diana is easily persuaded now.

She can’t be certain.

“Oh, is that you?”

Diana blinks, roughly pulled out of her reverie at Akko’s exclamation. She follows Akko’s gaze to see her eyeing the pictures on the album in her lap.

She has the urge to hide it from Akko. Diana greatly values her privacy and she doesn’t easily open up to others. It is, however, already established that Diana will _always_ make an exception for Akko.

That includes letting her see pictures of her and her mother that Diana hasn’t shown to anyone else.

With flushed cheeks, Diana nods and moves the album so that one side of it sits in her lap while the other is in Akko’s.

Diana points at each one of the pictures, the memories flooding into the forefront of her mind without much difficulty. She used to recite to herself the memory each photograph contains – a way to commemorate and to never forget her mother. Now it comes in handy as she practically narrates her childhood to Akko with the aid of the pictures.

At every retold memory, Diana feels a pang in her chest not unlike the one that she attributes to whenever she misses her mother – this time, though, it’s accompanied by warmth and comfort, like the blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Like the hot chocolate she’s drinking. Like the steady and solid presence of Akko beside her.

Diana already knows the feeling she has now is because of Akko’s presence.

She’s always thought that secluding herself from the rest of the world on her mother’s death anniversary is the best way to deal with the loss of a parent.

Then comes a warm, bumbling, messy Akko with a blanket and hot chocolate.

The tears are already streaking down her cheeks before Diana realizes they’re even there to begin with but before she can mumble out incoherent apologies or turn away to hide herself, Akko puts away the thermoses and album on the table before pulling Diana into her arms.

Diana prides herself in her ability to maintain composure and keeping her emotions in check. Yet as she continues to quietly sob against Akko’s shoulder, she feels as though a weight – that she doesn’t even know exists until at this moment – lifts off her chest.

When she looks back on this moment, she’ll realize that this is the exact time that she finally _accepts_ that her mother is gone. Sure, she has come to live with the pain of losing the only parent she’s known but bottling up her grief differs from accepting the loss.

It’s… liberating.

Once Diana is sure there are no more tears threatening to spill, she pulls back and away from Akko, trying to go for nonchalance. She can’t believe she just sobbed against Akko’s shoulder. They’re friends but still… “Forgive me, I –”

“It’s okay,” interrupts Akko, voice barely above a whisper. “You’re human, Diana. You don’t have to apologize for feeling sad and missing your mom.”

By the Nines, Diana’s throat feels constricted and she can feel another burning in her eyes.

Akko smiles at her before she takes Diana’s hand in hers and entwines their fingers with each other’s. Diana can see a light dusting of pink on Akko’s cheeks and is certain that hers are of the same hue as well.

It’s then that Diana realizes this is the first time she is happy on her mother’s death anniversary – _and_ during a rainy day no less.

And as Akko continues holding her hand under the blanket and smiling at her with warm crimson eyes, Diana thinks rainy days aren’t so bad after all.


	4. This Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She's different every time, but at the same time, there is no difference. Same clumsiness, same curiosity, same bubbling energy. Same warm, bright crimson eyes. In which Diana is a goddess and Atsuko is her other half.  
> Or Akko dies a lot of times but Diana finds her in every lifetime and falls in love with her over and over again.
> 
> Day 4 Alternate Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you, Ryu_No_Me for beta reading as always :)

_ These hands had to let it go free, and _

_ this love came back to me _

**_This Love_ ** _ – Taylor Swift (1989 – 2014) _

Atsuko was the first daughter of the Kagaris and was born during a time when having a daughter was seen as bad luck.

The goddess of healing never understood such silly notions despite being in the universe far longer than the Earth itself. It didn't make sense even in her immortal mind.

Why would a female child bring bad luck?

But she had learned over the past millennia that nothing ever made complete sense anyway. Not in the mortal realm.

Despite the curse and the saying that a female child brings bad luck, the father still asked for the goddess to heal his daughter, his beloved, his reminder of his wife.

Death already took the matriarch but little Atsuko was still breathing – albeit hardly – and Diana could still do something about her situation.

And so she did.

Without asking for anything in return, just like what her mother taught her.

Kindness was what the goddess of peace always told her.  _ Let your kindness flow through your fingertips and onto someone's bloodstream. _

When the child’s father fell asleep with his baby cradled in his arms, Diana materialized in the room. Healing the child would need more than a bright light and whispered words to the ear.

She needed the goddess’ actual touch.

Yet, the moment Diana touched the child's forehead to give her healing – a recharged energy, a flow of emotions shot up through her fingertips, up to her arm until they settled in her chest – warm, light, fulfilling.

She didn't know what the feeling was exactly but she had heard of them from her followers and believers whenever she visited the temple built after her name.

The feeling of belongingness, the sudden brightness of every little thing, the warmth –  _ so much warmth. _

_ Soulmates. _

But… Diana wasn't a mortal. She had no soul.

She existed and she didn't.

She was a god.

They had no soulmates.

Diana looked at the baby staring up at her and when crimson met sapphire, she realized what it was.

Her other half.

* * *

“They're not supposed to exist,” Diana was saying to her mother as she paced around the temple.

Her mother hardly looked up from her cup of ambrosia. “They do now,” her mother said, nonchalant.

No, not nonchalant.

_ At ease. _

The goddess of peace was always at ease.

That little fact never irked Diana until now.

“How can I even have another half?” Diana insisted. She couldn’t wrap her mind around the idea. It was just… improbable.  _ Impossible. _ “I'm a goddess, mother!”

“I already told you, you two were made from the same fabric from the universe and were separated by the cosmos in the beginning,” her mother patiently explained. Her ocean blue eyes appraised Diana over the rim of her cup. “Think of it this way: you two are two halves of the same loaf of bread sold to two separate persons and have come back together to be joined as one.”

Diana halted her frantic pacing to scowl at her mother. That was distasteful. “You have acquired the bad sense of humor of the mortals,” she grumbled, finally sitting down across her mother.

The goddess of peace shrugged, unaffected. “It is as simple as that, Diana. You need not make it complicated.”

“But mother –”

“What are you so afraid of?"

Diana fell silent.

“It's not the connection,” her mother continued without waiting for any response. “We both know you have been looking for something for quite some time now. So, what is it?”

“She's a mortal.” Diana had to force the words out. “She will die.”

Diana knew she would. She could heal her over and over and over again, save her time and time again, but in the end even a goddess would not be able to stop Death altogether.

It always came.

And what would happen to Diana if  _ she  _ died?

She already had a hard time leaving her side when their real connection revealed itself. She wanted – no, she  _ needed _ to spend the rest of her days with her.

That was what her heart and essence told her.

But Death… Death was another thing altogether. It was an unstoppable force.

“She'll come back.”

Shock travelled through Diana. It was a foreign feeling. “What?”

“For as long as you live, she will be reincarnated,” her mother explained, tone serious. “You really ought to read scriptures regarding twin flames and other halves.”

“Then why  _ now? _ I have been living for millennia.” It didn’t make sense. No matter how hard Diana tried to wrap her head around it, she just couldn’t.

Either her mother didn’t care that her daughter was having a mental breakdown in front of her or she tried not to show it. “And you will continue to do so. And your other half… well, let's just say you'll have to follow her across time and space.”

* * *

Diana didn't show herself to Atsuko as she grew up.

Her heart yearned for her. She wanted her. The moment they touched, Diana knew she couldn't stay away. Not for long.

But she was a child and Diana was a goddess.

It wouldn't have worked out easily.

And so she waited. Patiently.

She had been living for millennia.

A few years until her twin flame reached maturity wouldn’t hurt.

Despite donning on her mortal form most times, Diana kept her distance from the girl, simply watching from the sidelines, observing from afar, protecting her from the shadows that lurked in alleyways and empty passages.

The goddess of healing only ever showed some signs of her essence to her followers during the festival they deemed as ‘her day.’ But even then, Diana never allowed them to see her mortal form.

She only did it for Atsuko.

She realized then that she would do anything for her.

For her other half. Her twin flame.

It still sounded ridiculous even after almost two decades since the revelation.

No unexplainable connection, no enigmatic pull, no longing for someone you didn’t even know should exist.

And yet there Diana was – yearning for the other half of her being.

Absolutely ludicrous.

Yet the goddess was undeniably helpless.

* * *

The first time they met  _ and  _ touched was an accident.

Diana loved the start of the week for it was the only time she ever really rested alone in the temple.

She preferred the mortal realm ever since for its quiet, for the hums of wind and the tweets of birds, for the solace she had here.

The land of the gods was loud and full of obnoxious beings.

Diana could only tolerate a handful of gods and goddesses – and that already included her mother.

So, in her mortal form, rest she did.

Or  _ tried  _ to do because  _ someone  _ managed to get into the temple despite being locked from the inside.

A burglar trying to steal offerings perhaps? It was likely.

The gifts of her followers to her altar were dwindling due to the famine across the land brought upon by the useless ruling monarchs. Not that the gods and goddesses could intervene without anyone directly asking for their help.

So, yes, a thief was likely trying to steal food for his family from the temple of a goddess.

Diana didn’t really mind – she had no use for the offerings and only gave them to famished children she saw on the streets – but this was supposed to be her rest day.

The one day she had to herself when she could think about Atsuko without the guilt of longing for someone who didn’t even know who Diana really was.

And so, imagine the goddess’ surprise when she rose from her perch behind the altar to see Atsuko herself standing in front of the altar with a loaf of bread in her hands.

“Ah!” Atsuko stumbled back and the grip she had on the bread loosened, making it fall to the ground with a silent thump.

Diana’s brows knitted in confusion. Did Atsuko see a ghost? The goddess was sure that she –

_ Oh. _

She was in her mortal form, wearing her usual flowy ecru dress that reached past her ankles.

She initially thought Atsuko couldn’t see her.

“Hello,” Diana greeted to ease the girl’s mind. She tried ignoring the flutter in her chest and belly at seeing her other half standing just a few metres away from her.

That was new.

It was probably their proximity that was making Diana feel… things.

Atsuko scrambled to her feet as she hurriedly retrieved the fallen bread. Her words came out in a rush, “Sorry, I wasn’t expecting anyone because they said no one comes here during this day of the week so I didn’t think anyone would be here…”

Though her tone was harried, the goddess couldn’t help but compare Atsuko’s voice to the wondrous sounds of sirens singing. It was even better.

Soft, warm, melodic.

_ Atsuko. _

Diana let a smile of her own play on her lips. “It’s alright.” As a matter of fact, it was more than alright.

Her twin flame was here. Right across from her.

_ So close and yet so far. _

Diana never hated being a goddess until this moment.

There were rules she had to abide by. Any mortals under the age of eighteen were hands off.

Even if they were your twin flame.

By now, she read enough to know about other halves and twin flames.

Atsuko smiled a small shy smile and it made Diana’s insides twist in ways she didn’t think possible. “It’s my eighteenth birthday,” she explained. “I thought I would give the goddess who saved my life a gift. If it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be here today.”

Diana’s heart pounded in her chest. She was here to give  _ her  _ a gift. Despite being in her mortal form and not knowing who Diana really was, Atsuko was looking at her with a soft gaze.

As if she could see right through the façade. As if she could recognize the face of her other half.

And then she stepped forward, closer to the altar, and Diana was assaulted with the sweet, sweet scent of vanilla and plums.

“Are you a priestess?”

Diana had to blink twice to understand the question directed at her. “I – yes.”

Why did she lie?

But the answer seemed to light up the girl’s face and she excitedly jumped on the balls of her feet. “The goddess talks to you?”

_ No one  _ talked to the goddess of healing. She only ever ‘showed’ herself through bright lights and the smell of the salty ocean. And even then, she only ever did that when mortals asked for her help healing those who weren’t supposed to be taken by Death yet.

So, no, the goddess of healing didn’t talk to priestesses.

She didn’t talk to any mortal  _ at all. _

But Atsuko had always been an exception ever since Diana first laid eyes on her.

“The goddess talks to no one,” Diana finally managed to say past the lump in her throat. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. She was literally a god!

And yet she was getting tongue-tied because of a mortal.

It was a… conundrum.

Atsuko’s shoulders dropped at that. Sadness had etched itself across her face and it tugged at Diana’s being. “Oh. That’s… sad. I was hoping to send her a message.”

“You could write her a letter,” Diana suggested before she could even process her own suggestion. Why was she still talking?

Atsuko dropped her head and she hugged the bread close to her chest as if she was protecting herself. From what? “I… I do not know how.”

Diana tilted her head to the side, not comprehending. “How to write a letter?”

“How to write.”

_ Oh. _

Of course. Women were still seen as lesser beings compared to their counterparts. Education was only given to the male population.

Only monarchs and noblewomen were allowed to hold books.

Diana still didn’t understand the low opinion of people on women.

“I could teach you.”

Again, the words were out of Diana’s mouth before she could scrutinize them. What was wrong with her today?

But the sudden happiness that bloomed across Atsuko’s face warmed Diana down to her toes and what was a little slip of the tongue here and there if she received that reaction?

Atsuko moved around the altar to bound to the goddess. She placed the loaf of bread on the altar before grasping Diana’s hands in hers. “That would be amazing and I would forever be grateful! Thank you so much!”

_ Soft. Warm. Bright. _

“But I can’t today. I only snuck out so father would be looking for me soon. But I’ll come back here, okay?”

Diana didn’t even get a word out before Atsuko picked up the loaf, walked back to the front of the altar, knelt, and silently whispered her prayers and gratitude to the goddess of healing.

The goddess who was right across from her, dazed and rendered speechless.

Atsuko then laid the loaf at the foot of the altar – amongst the many offerings of wine and cheese and flowers – before getting to her feet and waving at Diana as she raced out of the temple.

“See you around! Thank you again.”

Even when Atsuko left, her scent lingered in the air.

It was the most pleasant scent Diana had ever smelled in her lifetime.

With a smile playing on her lips, Diana picked up the loaf of bread and chuckled at the irony.

It was the first time she took an offering for herself.

* * *

The goddess waited for her every single day since their first meeting.

Not in the temple when there were followers praying to and thanking her.

But every start of the week, Diana would be waiting behind the altar, sitting and hoping Atsuko would finally come back.

She missed her. Yearned for her.

It didn’t make sense.

Until it did when Atsuko finally came carrying parchments and quills stowed away in a bag full of daisies.

_ You two were made from the same fabric from the universe and were separated by the cosmos in the beginning. _

Her mother was right.

Two loaves of bread separated and rejoined. She hated the example but the analogy was apt.

“I apologize for taking so long to come back!” Atsuko greeted her, a little winded with beads of sweat running down her temples. Her brunette hair was tied to a ponytail, fringes swept aside to reveal pools of bright crimson that regarded Diana. “I was swamped with chores at home.”

Diana simply nodded, not trusting her voice.

“Have you waited long?”

“I just finished offering prayers,” were the words that slipped past the goddess’ lips. Why was she lying again?

But the answer was better than admitting that Diana had been waiting for her every day since they met the first time.

That sounded unnerving even in her own head. She didn’t want to imagine what Atsuko would think of her if she ever admitted that.

“Oh, right. I forgot you’re a priestess.” Atsuko rubbed the back of her neck with a sheepish smile. “Wait. What  _ is  _ your name? I left in such a hurry last time I didn’t get your name.”

Her answer was instantaneous. “Diana. My name is Diana.”

Not a lie this time.

This time, the word was a privilege. A gift to Atsuko. Only her mother and the other gods and goddesses knew of Diana’s preferred name.

Now, her other half knew of it, too.

“I’m Atsuko. Nice to meet you again, priestess Diana!”

* * *

After the second meeting, the two of them had become closer.

Or more precisely, Atsuko wormed her way into Diana’s heart.

She was already in there, of course. She was, after all, Diana’s twin flame.

But back then, the indescribable pull she felt was because of the universe telling her that they were fated, that they were two sides of the same coin – incomplete without the other.

Now, however, the pull to be closer was more of a desire to get to know her. To know everything about Atsuko by asking her about them, by listening to her ramble and complain about her life, and through her stories and tales over lessons of writing.

Diana had never been more grateful that she was a goddess.

It didn’t matter if it was too hot or too cold when she was in her mortal form.

The only things that did were Atsuko’s warm laughter bubbling out of pink lips and crimson eyes that burned so brightly behind unruly fringes.

And also the fact that Atsuko’s smile never left her face when she finished writing her first sentence and the hug that she gave Diana in her joy at the completion of her task.

_ Warm, soft, bright. _

_ Atsuko. _

* * *

Telling Atsuko her name wasn’t a gift to the mortal herself.

It was a gift to Diana.

Every time Atsuko uttered her name, Diana felt as if she was in paradise, as if her mother had given her her famous peace ambrosia but  _ better. _

Nothing made much sense when it came to Atsuko.

Diana didn’t think she would like it.

But she did.

She liked everything associated to Atsuko. The warm ball of sunshine that seemed to brighten every place she went to.

“Diana, I finally finished it!”

Diana blinked just in time to see Atsuko waving a piece of parchment in front of her eyes, lips widened into a smile.

Today’s ‘lesson’ was writing a letter to the goddess of healing.

It had been two months since they moved into the clearing behind the temple for their weekly lessons. Two months since Diana had started listening to Atsuko’s life tale as the goddess taught her how to write. Two months since Diana realized that the ‘pull’ was just that.  _ A pull. _

They had a connection, yes.

However, it neither described nor encompassed the feelings and things she felt whenever Atsuko smiled and looked at her with bright eyes. It didn’t give justice to the fluttering sensation in her stomach when their hands or arms would brush against each other’s on accident. It didn’t explain why every time Atsuko would leave, Diana would find a way to make her stay – just a bit longer.

The pull, the inevitable connection only _sparked_ the beginning for them. Their interactions were what kept the fire burning and growing bigger and brighter.

But now that Atsuko had learned to write a letter all on her own, Diana had lost the excuse to see her weekly.

It shouldn’t hurt. She knew this day would come. She had anticipated it and prepared herself for the time that she and Atsuko would no longer meet.

It still hurt, though.

Diana forced a smile and gently took the parchment from Atsuko’s hand. She went through the letter quickly, not wanting to preempt the contents to  _ herself. _

She wanted to read it on her own and alone later.

“This looks wonderful. You’ve done great, Atsuko.” Diana’s words were genuine but the smile she had was not.

There was a sinking feeling in her stomach.

She was a goddess. Why was she even feeling this way? It wasn’t as if she and Atsuko would never meet again after this.

“I did?” Atsuko asked with wonder coloring her voice. She sounded so happy it made Diana happy as well. Her joy was truly contagious.

“It’s all thanks to you!” Akko exclaimed before she threw her arms around Diana.

The goddess squeaked at the sudden action and the parchment in her hand swayed in the wind as it fell to the grass underneath them.

Atsuko had embraced her before. This wasn’t even the first time they hugged. Yet something felt… different. Diana couldn’t explain it no matter how hard she tried to dig into her mind.

Once Atsuko pulled away, Diana was sure there was a dusting of rosy pink on her cheeks. The warmth wasn’t concentrated on them, though. She could also feel it in her chest.

She had never felt like this and yet it was oddly… pleasant.

“You’re the best, Diana,” declared Atsuko, still with that beaming smile of hers.

When they parted, the warmth in Diana’s chest didn’t leave her until the next day.

* * *

“I’m the goddess of healing.”

There it was again – words coming out of her mouth without Diana’s intention.

Her body had a mind of its own whenever Atsuko was near.

It was maddening.

But her heart knew what her mind didn’t.

It was the start of the week and like clockwork, Diana sat under the shade of the tree she and Atsuko frequented during their weekly lessons.

She knew they wouldn’t meet today for their lessons were already done. It didn’t stop the hope blooming in Diana’s chest, however. Hope that Atsuko would still come and meet her weekly even without the writing lessons.

And so she sat there waiting.

And let it be known that Atsuko never failed to surprise Diana.

She appeared, just like Diana hoped she would, with a packed loaf of bread in her hands. A gift of thanks for Diana’s free lessons.

But the day had to come to an end and Atsuko had to bid her farewell.

Diana, the idiotic fool that she was, panicked and blurted out the words she had been keeping for so long before Atsuko could take another step away from her.

The goddess had no time to take back the words or to claim she was only fooling around because Atsuko’s next words rendered her speechless.

“I know.”

Did she imagine those words?

“You – you know?” the goddess stammered out.  _ How? How did she know? _

Atsuko’s smile didn’t reveal anything. “Yes.”

The goddess asked the question out loud this time. “How?”

“I remember your eyes,” was Atsuko’s simple answer, expression still enigmatic despite the smile she was currently donning.

Diana couldn’t believe her ears. “You do? But you – you were but a baby!”

“We’re twin flames. The pull isn’t one-sided.”

For all the books that Diana read the past years, she didn’t garner that knowledge. She thought she was the only one who felt the pull, the yearning, the longing.

_ Atsuko felt it, too. _

“There was always something that made me look at your temple,” Atsuko explained, the smile would not leave her face. “A niggling in the back of my mind, a whisper in the dark when I was alone. And then I saw you here on my birthday and it made sense.”

The realization dawned on the goddess. “You knew.”

Atsuko nodded. “Father told me he asked for the goddess of healing to, well, heal me. The morning after my birth, I was a healthy child. It couldn’t be anyone else but you.”

“Why didn’t you confront me then?” was Diana’s next question.

“You were nervous!” Atsuko laughed but it wasn’t mocking. She sounded amused more than anything. “Like sweating nervous. I was afraid you’d run away from me.”

“I would never.”

Atsuko smiled at her. “Got to meet up with you weekly, though.”

This time, Diana let a smile of her own grace her lips. She had been worrying over nothing. All this time, Atsuko knew. All along, she felt the same pull like Diana did.

It made sense.

The way things only made sense when it came to Atsuko.

Her twin flame. Her other half.

* * *

Atsuko was light.

She was full of light but not of the sunshine type. Something softer – like the light that passed through the trees and their leaves. Or the light that could be seen just as the sun rose from the horizon.

She was bright and warm and soft.

Adjectives Diana would forever associate with the girl.

But she was also a mortal.

A fact Diana could not forget. How could she when the reminder came every year?

“You can take her as your lover,” her mother suggested over their usual afternoon meeting. “Most gods and goddesses find companionship in mortals. She could live far longer that way as well.”

“You haven’t,” Diana noted casually. “Taken a lover, I mean.”

Her mother hummed as she sipped her ambrosia. “I do not see the need to. I am at peace with the way things are.”

Diana didn’t comment that of course, she would feel that – she was the goddess of peace, for crying out loud.

“Enjoy your time with her,” her mother suggested after a few moments of silence between them. “She would reincarnate, yes, but that also means she has to die first.”

* * *

The first time Diana confessed her feelings for Atsuko was during the celebration of a new year.

They had been meeting each other thrice every week for six months to talk or simply rest together under the canopy of trees behind Diana’s temple.

Diana wanted to see Atsuko more but she was a human and she had duties and chores and could not simply abandon them to galivant and walk around hand in hand with her other half – even if said other half was a goddess.

The goddess herself knew she was shirking away from her own duties at times whenever she felt the sudden urge to see a glimpse of Atsuko. The only difference between the two of them was that Diana didn’t have to work for her sustenance.

No matter how many times Diana had insisted that Atsuko take home the offerings for the goddess, she declined, citing that it was unfair of her to take what wasn’t directly given to her.

Diana didn’t know why Atsuko’s kindness made her love her more.

Yes, love.

She loved her.

And Diana knew that the feeling wasn’t only because of the indescribable pull. No, no. She loved Atsuko because she was bright, kind, generous, sympathetic, and all good things that mortals had a hard time being.

Atsuko was a good person without much effort.

She was everything Diana had unconsciously asked for from the cosmos.

“I love you.”

The words, just like every other word Diana had said in front of Atsuko, were said without much thought or plan.

The words, just like being with Atsuko, were right.

Atsuko tore her gaze away from the river to catch Diana’s soft stare.

The light of the fireflies was reflected in Atsuko’s eyes, creating specks of gold amongst the sea of red, and Diana’s heart pounded hard in her chest.

And then a grin, rivaling the brightness of the sun, appeared on Atsuko’s face and Diana knew then and there that she would follow this woman across time and space, across centuries, across lifetimes for as long as she lived.

“I love you, too.”

Diana hadn’t heard of sweeter words.

* * *

“She’s getting old.”

“She’s mortal.” It sounded as if it was the only answer. Diana hated it. Hated the implications. Hated the inevitable.

Why couldn’t Death be stopped?

The goddess of healing tried to stop herself but this was her mother – her only confidant. If she couldn’t admit this to her, she would never be able to admit it to anyone else – even to herself. “I don’t want her to die.”

Her mother’s smile was bittersweet, tinged with sadness on the sides. She didn’t know what Diana was going through but the pain in her eyes was enough for her to know. “You’ll see her again.”

* * *

Atsuko was only fifty-one when she died.

Diana tried her damndest to heal her, to save her, but the dark wisps of smoke that seeped through the surface were enough to signal Death’s arrival. To let Diana know that it was Atsuko’s time.

The goddess of healing was powerless against Death.

It was painful.

The two of them had spent all of their time together especially after Diana had taken Atsuko as her lover. The title was a mere formality and was there more for the understanding of the gods and the mortals.

Atsuko was more than a lover, more than a companion.

She was Diana’s other half.

But they did not need to know that and so they kept the pretense.

The two of them knew what they were to each other and that was what mattered.

“I will find you,” Diana promised as she watched the last flickers of life in those warm, warm crimson eyes. “We will see each other again. I promise you. I love you.”

Smiling tenderly at Diana was the last thing Atsuko did before Death claimed her.

* * *

It was fifty years after her death when Atsuko was reincarnated.

The time was different and the world had changed so much.

And so did Diana's other half.

She had blonde hair now.

But one thing remained the same – her eyes.

Those bright, joyous crimson eyes.

Loaves of bread separated but rejoined. Still a ridiculous notion but appropriate still like it was a hundred years ago.

Diana had found her living by the beach – she was a fisherman in this life.

She was still the same person Diana first fell in love with – clumsy, boisterous, full of life.

_ Warm, soft, bright. _

Just like she always was before.

* * *

It was clockwork at this point.

Every fifty years after Atsuko's death, her soul would replenish and be put into another mortal body.

Diana always felt it in her bones, in her very essence. She knew Atsuko was back.

This time, though, is different.

The mortals no longer had much need for gods and goddesses. They rarely called upon them anymore. They hardly maintained temples in their names.

It made being with Atsuko easier. Better. Fewer responsibilities as a goddess meant more time to spend with her other half.

* * *

It was on Atsuko’s tenth reincarnation that Diana asked.

“Make me a mortal.”

The cup of ambrosia almost slipped off her mother’s grasp. Her reflexes were quick, though, and she righted the cup in her hands. “Do you even know what you're saying?”

Her tone was pleading. She had to understand where Diana was coming from.  _ She had to.  _ “Mother.”

“Diana, you're asking me to strip you of your very essence – which, by the way, I cannot do.” Her mother’s voice held a tone of edge in it and it was the first time Diana had heard of it. “But even still, you’re asking to be stripped of everything that makes you  _ you _ . You’re a  _ goddess. _ ”

That was exactly the problem. She  _ was  _ a goddess.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with her.” Diana was tired of the cycle. She was tired of losing Atsuko over and over and over again.

She lived for fifty years and would be reincarnated after another fifty.

Diana was immortal but it didn’t mean that she was immune to pain.  _ Especially  _ when the pain came from her other half’s deaths. Deaths –  _ plural. _

She wanted the cycle to stop.

“Aren't you already?” her mother questioned.

“Not like this.” Diana shook her head. She willed for her mother to understand. “I have lost her so many times already. It tears me apart, mother, every single time she slips from my grasp. You have to understand. Please.”

Her mother only looked at her with sadness in her eyes.

Even the goddess of peace was unable to calm her own daughter down.

* * *

“I met you before.”

That was a first.

This was their eleventh first meeting but the thrill of seeing Atsuko again still hadn’t wavered. And Diana had only gotten braver over the centuries. She knew not to waste any opportunities to tell Atsuko what she really felt. “You loved me, too.” 

* * *

“Memories?"

“Just flashes of them,” was her mother’s answer. It wasn’t what Diana was expecting. “To make it easier for you. I know you only make your move when she turns eighteen."

Diana rolled her eyes but she felt a smile tugging at her lips regardless. The thought behind the action was earnest and Diana was thankful for it. “I'm an immortal, not an opportunist,” she retorted.

Her mother nodded but Diana could see that she was happy seeing her daughter smiling. “Less time to make her remember, more time to spend with her.”

“Thank you, mother,” Diana said in her sincerest tone. She knew her mother had to pull some strings to even make such a feat happen.

“It's the least I can do.”

* * *

“I love you. I always have.”

Atsuko’s eyes – as familiar as they were – were filled with sadness and longing Diana hadn’t ever seen before. Her next words explained why. “I don't want to go. I don't want to leave you again.”

Diana felt her heart skip a beat – she didn’t know it was possible. She had been falling in love with Akko over and over again for the past millennium but this was the first time her heart reacted in such a manner.

And so, the goddess of healing made sure to do what Atsuko asked.

* * *

They found the answer through Death.

Well, they  _ didn’t.  _ Not in the way they expected anyway.

Both of them were unprepared for the bargain.

“Your powers of healing for her immortality.”

Diana was taken aback. She did ask her mother to make her a mortal so she could die alongside her beloved but if she was still an immortal  _ but  _ without her powers _ ,  _ then what does that mean for her?

“What kind of goddess would I be if you strip me of my powers?” she asked out loud.

Death tilted its head to the side and its scythe moved alongside the movement. “An immortal one with an immortal girlfriend?”

They had nothing to say to that.

“Mull it over,” Death suggested, not unkindly. “You know how to summon me.”

And with that, Death turns around and walks away with a sacrificed soul of a falcon.

* * *

Atsuko tried to reassure her once they were alone. “It's okay.”

Diana looked at their entwined hands before her gaze travelled to those warm but sad crimson eyes. Eyes she had lovingly gazed into countless of times through different generations and centuries. Eyes that never changed despite the alterations to the body they were attached to. Eyes that Diana didn’t want to lose ever again.

“I'd do it.”

Atsuko gasped, her grip on Diana’s hand tightening. “Diana –”

The goddess shook her head. Her mind was made up. The cycle had to end. It was either they were both immortals or Diana would be human so she could die with Atsuko. There were no in-betweens now. Diana didn’t want it. “It's for you. For us. I’m tired of this endless cycle.”

“It's selfish.” Her tone was defiant even if Diana could hear tinges of sadness in it.

“No, it isn't,” Diana insisted. “ _ This arrangement _ is unfair. You keep dying and I keep living and it's hard. I have no one to heal now. No one asks for me.”

And it was true. There were professional doctors now, equipment that helped people live longer, medicine was readily available too.

Life had changed so much.

There was no need for a goddess now. Not anymore.

“What if someone does?” Atsuko asked.

Diana couldn't reply to that.

Atsuko shook her head, sadly. She tried to give Diana a reassuring smile but it only came out as a grimace. “I'm sorry Diana. I can't let you do it.”

* * *

Diana, as always, lamented to her mother. She had no one else but her. “I'm at loss.”

Her mother’s advice was simple. “Do what your heart tells you.”

And it wasn’t entirely helpful, either.

Diana shook her head before dropping it into her hands. She didn’t know what to think, what to do. Atsuko was only twenty-three at the moment – close to Diana’s mortal age – and she didn’t want to waste years to decide if she would accept Death’s bargain. “My other half doesn't want it.”

“Of course she does.” It was stated so confidently that Diana had to blink in quick succession to understand her mother’s words. “She's afraid. Talk to her.”

* * *

Her mother was right.

“What if you get tired of me?”

Diana’s heart clenched at the utter sadness and fear in her other half’s voice. She had never heard her like that before. Not even when she was in her deathbed.

“I have been following you through time and space for more than a millennium now, Atsuko,” the goddess said with a smile she hoped conveyed just how much she loved her. “I am incomplete without you. My heart yearns for you. Only you.”

Diana smiled. The words came easily to her now. They came from within her. “You and me. Together. For the rest of eternity. Or until the world ends. I don’t care. I just want to be with you, Atsuko. It's what my heart truly desires.”

Tears pooled in those bright crimson eyes but they weren’t of sadness – that, Diana was sure of.

Thus, together they went to Death and offered the power of healing of the goddess.

It was the best thing Diana had ever done.

Becoming immortal alongside her twin flame. Her other half. Her beloved.

Diana didn’t believe in the notion until she experienced it herself.

The world had changed but their love for each other never waned – it only grew brighter and stronger as time went by.

If Diana had to go through the endless cycle of reincarnations over and over again, she would do it. For Atsuko.

Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you squint, you can see where I lost the motivation. It was supposed to be a oneshot, damn it. It turned into this aimless and weird ass au instead.


	5. my tears ricochet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana is scared of unknown variables and her fear leads her to lose the love of her life. Or so she thought.
> 
> Day 5 Hurt/Comfort

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first diakko week piece I've finished and so it's my favorite. Akko/Andrew warning. Nothing graphic but this is angst so...
> 
> Thank you, Ryu_No_Me for beta reading this. :)

_and so the battleships will sink beneath the waves_

_you had to kill me but it killed you just the same_

**_my tears ricochet_ ** _– Taylor Swift (folklore, 2020)_

Akko is the most beautiful bride Diana has ever seen.

The white dress clings to her body perfectly, the train long and lacy as it trails after her as she walks down the aisle. The bouquet of white and red roses is gripped tightly in her glove-covered hands with her brunette hair falling freely down her back and her fringes styled carefully so it doesn’t fall on her eyes. Her usually bare lips are now painted with rosy pink that perfectly complements her complexion.

She’s so gorgeous and Diana can’t tear her gaze away as Akko continues slowly walking towards the altar, red eyes focused but a little glassy behind the thin lace veil.

Diana has never seen anything more beautiful and breathtaking as Akko is right now. She never wants to take her eyes off her if she can help it.

And Diana wishes that it’s _her_ at the end of that long red carpet waiting for Akko; that it’s _her_ who is taking Akko’s hand to guide her up the altar; that it’s _her_ who is smiling softly at Akko and telling her how beautiful she looks; that it’s _her_ who is at the receiving end of Akko’s soft chuckle as she murmurs a quiet thanks –

– not Andrew.

But Diana already lost her chance. She already let her go.

So, Akko chose him.

* * *

_“I said yes.”_

_Diana looked up from the book in her hands to regard Akko over the rim of her glasses. She didn’t even bother to ask how Akko got in in her flat. She had keys after all. “Come again?”_

_“Andrew proposed and I said yes.”_

_Diana blinked. Once. Twice. And then she said, “Oh.” And even though she didn’t mean it, her next word was instinctive, “Congratulations.”_

_Hurt and disappointment flashed in Akko’s eyes but Diana wasn’t sure of what she saw – didn’t want to assume, didn’t want to let the flicker of hope in her chest to chew her alive just for it to spit her back out – and so she ignored the sadness in Akko’s eyes (and the pain filling her chest) as her closest friend held out her arm and said, “The ring is beautiful, isn’t it?”_

_Diana didn’t even look at the said piece of jewelry. Her gaze is far too focused on Akko to pay it any mind. But this was Akko and she knew she was waiting for a response – any response, and so, staring at Akko’s face – despite being ridden with hurt and disappointment, still looks absolutely beautiful – Diana said, “It is beautiful. The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”_

* * *

The reception is torture.

Watching her best friend get married and staying for the reception even though she hardly knows ten people is being polite and supportive.

Watching the love of her life get married to someone else and _still_ staying for the reception to give a speech is just being a masochist.

But Diana is good at being polite, supportive, _and_ being a masochist and so she stays.

And delivers a speech for the newlywed couple.

She is such a bloody idiot.

Standing there in the middle of the banquet hall with most of the people whom she knows nothing about – and probably won’t see again after tonight – Diana clears her throat before she turns to Akko and Andrew who are sitting in a chaise lounge – hands clasped together – as the traditional and expected speeches for the newlyweds are being delivered.

“Akko is my best friend,” Diana begins, voice clear and loud despite the feeling of hurt sitting in her chest. She doesn’t want to do this. But it’s for Akko, so she shoulders on. “When we first met in Luna Nova, she thought of me as her rival – someone she had to beat in order to succeed in being a witch. And I thought of her as someone who doesn’t know how to follow school rules and regulations.”

There’s a murmur and some quiet agreements of how Akko has always been ‘rebellious.’

Once the crowd quiets down, Diana continues with a soft smile, “But she proved herself over and over again and restored magic in the world. And she became one of my closest and most cherished friends after that.” At that, Diana raises her champagne flute towards Akko who’s smiling softly at her. “Akko, you are one of a kind and I have always admired you even back when you thought of me as your rival. You’re strong without being aggressive; you’re compassionate without being a pushover; you’re sweet and caring and always thoughtful without overstepping. And despite everything that has happened to you over the years – your ups and downs in your career as a performer and the many headaches you faced because of it, your smile has never once diminished in its brightness and warmth and I hope it never does. My only wish is for you to be happy in this life and the next – if there is one – because you deserve all the good things this world has to offer and more.”

There’s only silence once she’s finished and Diana remembers that this is a wedding reception and she’s supposed to cap her speech off with a, ‘Congratulations, Akko and Andrew. May your marriage prosper.’

So, with a lump in her throat and tears pricking behind her eyes, Diana gathers all her remaining strength and composure to say, “Congratulations, Akko and Andrew. And I wish for your marriage to prosper in the years to come. Cheers.” She raises her champagne flute along with the other guests and she returns the mic to the host once she’s done taking a sip.

Once the microphone is back in his hand, the host says with a grin plastered on his face, “Wow, what a wonderful speech about the bride! Thank you, Miss Diana.” He claps his hands together which prompts some applause from the other guests themselves. “Although, I have to admit, that sounds a lot like you’re in love with the bride huh,” he then jokes, good-naturedly and even though Akko chuckles at the statement, Diana doesn’t miss the brief flash of sadness and hurt in those beautiful and warm crimson eyes.

Of course, Diana goes along with it and she gives a polite smile as the other guests start chuckling at the host’s joke.

Diana doesn’t try to correct him that she actually is.

* * *

_“Anything would suit you, you know.”_

_Akko glared at her through the dressing mirror and she didn’t drop her glower until Diana felt lasers pointed at her and she looked up from the magazine she was holding to raise an eyebrow at her best friend._

_“What?”_

_“It’s my wedding.”_

_Like Diana needed a reminder? “I know.”_

_“You’re supposed to be helping me!” Akko whined before she dropped down to the ottoman with a muted thump, creasing the fabric of the wedding gown she had on. It was the fourth one and she still couldn’t decide._

_Diana didn’t want to think and analyze what that meant._

_“You could always make your own wedding gown with your magic,” Diana suggested, putting away the magazine on a nearby table. She thought Akko might need her more seriously than she previously let on._

_Akko just sighed before putting up both palms under her chin and letting her elbows rest against her thighs. “This is exhausting.”_

_“Where is Andrew, anyway?” Diana asked. She didn’t want to, but he was the groom and wasn’t he supposed to be here instead of her? She wasn’t even_ part _of their entourage. “Or Lotte and Sucy? Or Amanda?”_

_The question only dampened Akko’s mood. “Andrew is busy working and finalizing some… things. Lotte and Sucy are tasked with the flowers so their hands are already full. And Amanda is busy with her lesson plans. Or something.”_

_So, Diana was the only one available and that was the sole reason Akko called her in the first place. Not that it should hurt. Akko was being considerate – all things considered._

_“I didn’t call them.”_

_Diana blinked. Did she say the words out loud? “Pardon?”_

_“I only called you,” Akko clarified before looking up and meeting Diana’s gaze. “I wanted_ your _opinion on the dress. Not Lotte’s or Sucy’s or Amanda’s.” She paused, as if bracing herself for her next words. “Or Andrew’s.”_

_“Oh.”_

_Diana had been saying that a lot lately she thought it was a little overused. But what else could she say to_ that?

_It was as if Akko was giving her a chance. A choice. A rope to hold onto to save themselves from this imminent tragedy._

_But Diana was a coward and she stomped down the hope gathering in her chest. She couldn’t ruin this for Akko. Not with uncertainties and false hopes and broken promises. She couldn’t – wouldn’t – do that to Akko._

_Andrew was safe. Andrew was sure. Andrew was brave._

_Diana was none of those things._

_And Akko deserved more._

_“The second one you tried looked best on you,” Diana finally said with a soft smile._

_And for the umpteenth time, she ignored the flash of hurt and disappointment in those crimson eyes and convinced herself it was for the better._

* * *

“You look beautiful.”

Akko smiles before she dips her head, suddenly bashful at Diana’s unexpected compliment.

But it’s merely a fact – something that Diana will say over and over again until Akko finally believes her.

After all, Akko is the most beautiful person Diana has ever seen. She deserves to hear and know that much.

“I’d say you’re more beautiful,” Akko begins as she joins Diana at the balcony, “but I’m sure you’d say that I’m the most beautiful person right now because it’s my wedding day.”

Diana hums, letting the warm breeze of the June air heat up her chilling insides. Neither of them says anything as Akko leans forward and rests her forearms on top of the balcony railings.

Sapphire eyes watch her every move and every wave of the white wedding dress as it flows with the night air and how those brunette locks look so soft and make Diana want to reach out to check if they’re as soft as they look.

But she already knows they are – she’s run her fingers through them countless of times, has memorized their feel in her hands, has fixed and styled them so many times before.

At the memories the thought conjures, Diana swallows, the words beginning to form on her tongue. She can’t fight it – can never control herself when it comes to Akko and so she blurts out, “You’re still the most beautiful even if it’s not your wedding day.”

Akko turns her head to look at her then, crimson gaze filled with longing and sadness and Diana feels the hope flickering back up in her chest but – _as always_ – she disregards it and thinks she’s only imagining things.

Hope is a dangerous thing.

It’s uncertain. It’s an unknown variable.

Diana doesn’t like the unknown.

Akko opens her mouth to speak but thinks better of it the last second and she simply settles with, “I’m glad you came.”

The smile that forms on Diana’s lips is both miserable and genuine. Two things she will always feel in Akko’s presence now that she’s married to someone else. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

* * *

_She heard sniffles in the bride’s room in her passing._

_And it made Diana worried sick because this was Akko’s wedding day and_ why was she crying? _Was it nerves? Wedding jitters? Diana heard those were normal but sobs?_

_And so, she opened the door without even knocking and saw Akko sitting alone in, back facing the vanity and hastily wiping at her eyes with a white kerchief and smiling at her as if she weren’t just crying an hour before her wedding._

_“Why are you crying?” Diana asked as she locked the door and went to kneel in front of Akko, careful to not step on the ends of the white dress. “What’s wrong?”_

_Akko shook her head, sniffling before she gave Diana a watery smile. “Just nervous.”_

_Diana smiled. She knew Akko was lying. Akko_ knew _that Diana knew but they were good – magnificent, even – at neglecting and denying things and so they let the lie go. “Don’t be. You’ll be fine. I’ll make sure you won’t trip on your dress. I have my wand with me.”_

_That pulled a chuckle from Akko._

_And this time, Diana’s smile was genuine. She silently took the kerchief in Akko’s hand before reaching up to gently wipe the tear tracks left on her cheeks. She dabbed at the stains left, careful to not ruin Akko’s light makeup._

_“I love you.”_

_Diana’s careful movements halted. And she probably stopped breathing, too. Even as her heart started beating wildly in her chest._

_The words echoed in her mind._ I love you. I love you. I love you.

_The reply was on the tip of Diana’s tongue. She loved Akko, too. More than best friends should. And this was her chance to finally admit that._

_This was her only chance._

_But this was Akko’s wedding day, too._

_And what would people say if the bride leaves the groom at the altar because her best friend finally confessed her own hidden and suppressed feelings?_

_Akko was a world-renowned magic performer. Her image would be tainted as the woman who ran off from her own wedding._

_She didn’t deserve that._

_Akko deserved better._

_And Diana wasn’t even sure if she could be the person Akko needed – or the one that she deserved._

_Because Akko – kind, warm, and gentle Akko – deserved someone who could give her better – more. Someone who would not hold back when it came to feelings. Someone who would never be scared of possible rejection. Someone not scared of the unknown variable._

_Someone who isn’t a coward._

_Someone who isn’t Diana._

_Diana dropped her hand and looked away. She briefly closed her eyes. She couldn’t bear to see the pain in those eyes that she was sure she was going to see when she finally replied – especially when she was the one who caused it. But she reminded herself that this was for the better._

_Akko deserved more than her._

_And so, Diana replied, “I love you too. You’re my best friend.”_

_She was sure her heart wasn’t the only one that broke at her words._

* * *

They’ve been married for a year before Akko files for a divorce.

The news comes unexpectedly on a Friday morning when Diana is just arriving at her office in the Ministry of Magic. She’s never paid any mind to the huge televisions in the lobby when she passes them by until she hears a reporter say, “World-renowned magic performer Akko Kagari, also known as Mystic Red, has filed for divorce from her husband, businessman Andrew Hanbridge of Hanbridge Corps. Details to follow tonight at The Talk.”

Diana has never whipped out her phone so quickly in her life. She dials Akko’s number and it’s already ringing when she realizes what she’s done.

She stares at the device in her hand. Akko has yet to pick up and she is probably busy right now and her mobile will be exploding with notifications and messages from her announcement, so she probably won’t answer –

“Hi, Diana.”

Diana panics and she momentarily forgets to put the phone to her ear before saying, “I – h-hello.” She clears her throat. “G-Good morning, Akko.”

There’s a soft chuckle on the other line and some arguing in the background and then Akko says, “Good morning, Diana. Hold on a sec, ‘kay?”

Before Diana can say anything – tell Akko she can just call her later when she isn’t as busy – she hears Akko shouting, “Hey, Marj, hold the lines, will you? Tell them we’d send a statement before lunch.” There is probably a reply that Diana doesn’t hear and then there’s a door opening and closing and a sigh before, “Hey.”

“Hi,” Diana replies, automatically. She feels breathless all of a sudden. Now that it’s quiet on Akko’s end, she can hear every sound and sigh that Akko makes. And it makes her… restless.

Here she is, standing in the middle of a crowded lobby, almost late to her meeting with the other ministers but uncaring of the repercussions.

She just needs to hear it. She needs to hear it from Akko herself.

“I’ve heard the news,” Diana finally murmurs when the silence between them stretches for too long and the pounding in her heart won’t calm down.

Akko hums and doesn’t say anything else.

That isn’t what Diana is expecting. “Is it… is it true?” she asks because she really has to know. She has to make sure the news didn’t deceive her.

Heaven knows how her mind has been playing tricks on her for the past year – cruelly giving her dreams wherein Diana was the one at the end of the aisle, waiting for Akko; wherein she was the one who vowed to love Akko for the rest of her life; wherein she confessed to Akko about her true feelings for her; wherein she didn’t say ‘you’re my best friend;’ wherein she didn’t let fear of the unknown dictate and control her decisions.

So, yes, Diana has to make sure – has to hear it from Akko herself.

Because even then, Diana isn’t sure she can believe it.

“I filed a divorce from Andrew.”

 _By the Nines._ Diana has never heard more beautiful words.

And through the blood rushing to her ears, the adrenaline pumping in her veins, and the excitement of _another_ chance coursing through her body, Diana manages to ask, “Are you free tonight?”

There’s a few beats of silence before Akko’s soft laughter filters through the speaker. “I just filed for a divorce.” A dramatic pause. “Of course, I’m free tonight.”

* * *

_The first time Diana realized she was in love with Akko was when Akko first took her to fly._

_Practically every single person in Luna Nova – student and staff alike – knew that Akko had a hard time getting off the ground. Despite the revival of magic, Akko still had much difficulty._

_But she never once gave up._

_And on the day that she could finally fly on her own for more than ten seconds, she invited Diana to go flying with her._

_And above the grounds, higher than the clouds, and closer to the stars, when Diana looked at Akko as they flew side by side on their brooms, she saw a strong, determined, kind, and warm woman instead of the clumsy and persistent – oftentimes the cause of her headache – girl who came from a non-witch family._

_And it was as if her all her interactions with Akko flashed before Diana’s eyes. The warmth blooming in her chest suddenly gave her clarity as to what the fluttery feeling she had been getting every time Akko smiled or looked at her way meant._

_She was in love with Akko._

_And had been for quite some time now._

_When Akko turned her head to grin at her, an unbridled joy shining bright in her red eyes and brighter than any stars in the sky, Diana knew she would do anything to see that smile._

* * *

“He knew.”

Diana lowers her wine glass on the side table. She now thinks that having a drink while having this conversation isn’t really wise.

They’re in Diana’s flat – her balcony, to be precise. The Blytonbury skyline is twinkling with a mirage of lights, rivaling the stars above, and giving them a familiar sight.

Akko is sitting beside her on the couch, legs tucked underneath her as she sips at her own glass, gaze directed at the view in front of them.

But even the shining lights cannot fully capture Diana’s attention. Especially with what Akko just said. “He… knew?”

“Yes,” is Akko’s short reply.

Diana doesn’t hesitate to ask, “About what exactly?”

The past year has given her clarity.

Well, more of a realization and acceptance.

Realization that she let Akko slip away because she was a coward who couldn’t admit her feelings to her best friend and would rather stay in the safe zone she has created to protect herself from rejection.

And acceptance that she lost her chance to profess her love for her and she will have to settle for loving her from afar for the rest of her life.

Until today happened.

Diana has vowed to herself that if there is a chance – no matter how slim – or if Akko throws her another rope to hold onto, she will take it this time. No more fear. No more doubts.

And perhaps the Nine Olde Witches had something to do with it or perhaps the universe or fate or whatever supernatural force was out there.

But now Diana has a chance.

And she might have been a coward before, but she isn’t now.

Now the love of her life sits beside her, quiet as she probably thinks over the divorce she just filed.

And Diana has never seen a more beautiful sight.

Brunette hair barely past her shoulders, fringes so unruly it keeps falling on Akko’s eyes and subsequently obstructing her sight, lips slightly curled up as her eyes watch the skyline.

But past those physical attributes, Akko looks relaxed. Relieved even.

Diana hasn’t seen her like this since she… since she announced her engagement to Andrew.

Akko has always been extraordinary in Diana’s eyes. Even before she was Mystic Red. Even before she was able to fly. Even before they saved the world together.

“About you,” Akko says, breaking Diana’s reverie and it takes her a moment to realize what Akko meant.

Andrew knew about her. Knew about Akko’s feelings for Diana.

And yet he still married her.

Diana has never known someone as brave and as stupid as Andrew.

“He did what I could never do back then,” Diana murmurs, gaze dropping to the hands in her lap.

“Propose to me?” Akko asks, voice genuinely curious. No judgement or resentment colors her voice. Just curiosity.

Diana shakes her head. She steels herself before she looks up to meet Akko’s steady gaze. This is her chance. Her last one.

The only one she needs.

The one that matters.

“Confess love for you and do something about it,” Diana finally answers, voice not wavering even as she feels her throat constricting at the emotions she feels rushing to her.

Akko’s steady gaze falters a little and she smiles a melancholic smile, eyes glinting with hope and warmth and something else Diana can’t quite place.

But seeing hope and warmth in those eyes are enough even if there is an unknown variable.

Diana is done being a coward. She’s done being afraid. She can finally raise her middle finger to the unknown variable because now… now she no longer fears it.

She gazes into those warm, gentle crimson eyes and says the words she’s longed to say for the longest time, “I love you, Akko. I am so madly and utterly in love with you.”

And Diana knows, she knows – then and there that the unknown variable she saw earlier is love.

It always has been love.

For her.

“You’re my best friend and I am in love with you,” Diana says, the words tumbling out of her lips now that the dam has been broken. “I have been in love with you for the longest time and I was so scared that you never felt the same. So, I settled with your friendship because I’d rather have you as a friend than lose you completely. And that was the biggest regret of my life because I let my fear and doubts control me and then when Andrew proposed, I knew I lost my chance. I was a coward. I let my fears dictate me and I –” Diana sniffs and she realizes there are tears running down her face. Yet, she doesn’t care. Not when Akko is looking at her with fondness in her eyes and love – so much love Diana can feel herself drowning in it just by looking.

“I love you so much, Akko Kagari. I’m in love with you – always have been.” Diana smiles. “Will you let me show you?”

Akko doesn’t say anything, she simply nods her head and it’s enough for Diana.

She raises a hand to gently – lovingly cup Akko’s cheeks and then she’s leaning forward and bravely capturing Akko’s lips with her own.

_And by the Nines._

If telling Akko that she loves her feels like there’s a dam broken, then kissing her feels a lot like flying.

The feeling of the air caressing your skin, the freedom you feel as you soar to the sky, the warmth of the sunlight as it heats up your whole being.

Kissing Akko is even _better_ than flying.

When a moan slips past Akko’s mouth and into Diana’s, the embers glowing in the pit of her stomach burn so brightly that Diana doesn’t even think when she presses herself against Akko, hands coming up to tangle themselves in those brunette locks and pulling her closer.

Diana pours everything she has in their kiss. If this is her only chance to do this, Diana wants Akko to know how much she loves her, how much she’s wanted to this for so long.

If this is the last thing Diana does, then she will make sure that she gives it her all.

But they still need air and even though Diana is tempted to use magic to _not_ need it – her wand is inside her room – she pulls back to let herself and Akko breathe.

She rests her forehead against Akko’s, their breaths intermingling and lips only a breadth apart.

Warmth, peace, and love settle simultaneously in Diana’s chest and if this is what contentment and happiness feel like, then she wants to feel it every day, for the rest of her life. With Akko.

No more fears or doubts.

Just their love for each other.

“Diana, you idiot.” Akko laughs, the sound breathless and soft as it reaches Diana’s ears. “What took you so long?”


	6. Starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Space and stars have always been important to both Diana and Akko. With the coming addition to their little family, Akko wants to make sure the stars remain part of their life.
> 
> Day 6 Space/Stars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you, Ryu_No_Me for beta reading :)

_Like we’re made of starlight, starlight_

_Like we dream impossible dreams_

**_Starlight_ ** _– Taylor Swift (Red, 2012)_

“Tada!”

The hands covering Diana’s eyes are removed and she has to blink a couple of times before her eyes can adjust. Once they do, she finds that she’s in the middle of the baby room Akko has been arranging for the past two months.

She sees nothing different though. The white cradle they recently purchased still sits in the middle of the room. Its arch activity bar is still filled with customized Alcor toys and other witch-related baby-safe materials Akko can think of because ‘we can’t have our baby forgetting she’s made from magic.’

There are no alterations on the pale blue curtains that cover the two square windows as far as Diana can see. And the stuffed animals that sit on the far right side of the room don’t appear to be tripled in number.

Coming up empty with the possible surprises Akko may have for her, Diana turns to her wife who’s sporting a wide grin on her face. She hesitates to ask but she isn’t keen to pretend to know what she should be looking at either.

“Forgive me, love,” Diana begins, “but what exactly are you trying to show me?”

Akko’s expression morphs into one of confusion before her face lights up as if it’s a metaphorical knowledge lightbulb. “Oh, silly me. Here. Wait.” She goes to flick off the light switch on the wall. “There.”

Once the room is bathed in darkness, Diana’s attention is caught by the swathes of light coming from the ceiling and it is then she finally understands Akko’s excitement.

“Oh, _wow_.”

The whole ceiling is decorated with various sizes of glow in the dark stars, scattered all over the fibre cement material, depicting a starry night sky. What really gets to Diana and has her hitching a breath is the two figures atop a broom, its position parallel to where their daughter will be when she’s sleeping in her cradle.

“It’s us.”

Diana peels her eyes away from the wonderful art design to look at her wife, feeling tears prick behind her eyes. By the Nines, her pregnancy really has her emotional over small things.

Although, _this_ is, arguably, _not_ a small thing.

“I had help from Lotte and Conz,” Akko explains. “The stars were easy to buy but the figure took us some time,” she admits with a smile illuminated by the dim lights coming from the glow in the dark ceiling art.

“It’s gorgeous,” Diana all but gushes, unable to hide the wonder in her voice. She knows Akko has been working herself to the bone trying to finish everything a month before Diana’s scheduled delivery, but she didn’t think that Akko was doing something like… this. Something that is very close to both their hearts. A reminder of the special moment they had alone after they saved the world.

Diana looks up at the ceiling again before asking, “How’d you make it?”

At the question, Akko lights up again and Diana knows her wife has been waiting to tell her all about the process of her little project.

“So, the first thing I did was do a sketch of us,” Akko begins with a wide smile. “Well, I made stick figures of us – or what I thought we looked like when we were in space after we saved the world. I asked Conz to make the figures look like actual human beings instead of broomsticks. Then she uploaded it to her laptop and then printed it. I had to use magic so I could make it at least a quarter-sized of the ceiling. Then I pasted it to a hardboard and asked Lotte to help me carve it out. Mou, that one took like three days. But I didn’t want to use magic so we had to stick to the plan.”

Diana only pursed her lips as Akko pauses to catch her breath. Just hearing her wife explaining the first steps already has Diana’s heart doing somersaults in her chest.

The simple idea of doing something like that is already heartwarming but seeing and hearing how it came to be is something more.

“And then,” Akko continues, “we painted the whole thing with white paint. Waiting for it to dry took days! At that point, I was tempted to use magic to finish the whole thing but I promised that I’d only use it for the figure enlargement so I didn’t. I wanted to be able to say that I did it with my bare hands, you know? After that, we painted it again with glow spray paints and – what are you looking at me like that for?”

Diana’s lips pull up into a smile as she walks over to where her wife is still standing in the threshold. She can feel her heart trying to burst out of her chest at the sheer amount of affection and love she feels for her wife.

How did she get so lucky?

“I love it. I love you. I’m sure our baby will love it as well,” Diana assures Akko, a hand automatically caressing her protruding belly, a habit she’s formed ever since they found out that the magical pregnancy spell they did actually worked.

“You don’t think it’s too much?” Akko asks, a hint of uncertainty lacing her voice.

Diana shakes her head. “It’s just right, I assure you. She’ll love it.”

Akko nods, relieved at her wife’s reassurance. “Now Abby would never forget how we saved the world.”

“It’s her mother’s legacy.” Diana smiles before a tingling feeling in her nether region has her internally groaning. Leave it to her body to interrupt her when she’s having a moment with her wife. “I hate to break the moment, love, but I have to pee.” Diana places a kiss on Akko’s cheek before swiftly walking out of the room.

“And don’t you think that I didn’t notice you casually using Abby,” she adds, almost as an afterthought.

Akko’s voice is close so Diana knows her wife is just right behind her. “Diana, light of my life, calling our daughter Aoi Bernadette is a mouthful.”

“It’ll be her name,” Diana argues. And not for the first time either. They’ve agreed on a name once they’ve learned the baby’s sex but they have yet to settle on what to call her on a daily basis.

It has somewhat become part of their routine.

Diana can almost hear the exasperation in Akko’s voice as she says, “It’ll be her _full_ name. Abby’s just a nickname. That or we call her cabbage.”

“Akko!” Diana huffs, forgetting her need to pee after hearing her wife utter that vegetable _again_ . She turns to Akko who – thankfully – has fast reflexes and stops half a metre away from Diana to avoid bumping into her belly. “You don’t even know if her hair will be like mine. And stop calling her with vegetable names, _please._ ”

“Oh, I’m sure it will be.” Akko grins. “Then we can call her cabbage or little cabbie.”

_“Atsuko!”_

~~The winner of their argument is only known after the delivery of their baby.~~


	7. seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana and Akko navigate parenthood together but Diana is having a harder time than her wife.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ran out of songs to associate with this one so don’t mind the meaning behind the song. Just the specified lyrics.
> 
> This one is set in the same universe as Day 6. 
> 
> As always, thank you, Ryu_No_Me for beta reading this :) 

_Love you to the Moon and to Saturn_

_passed down like folk songs_

_the love lasts so long_

**_seven_ ** _– Taylor Swift (folklore, 2020)_

It was the beginning of a cry that woke her.

Akko knew that the soft hiccup she heard through the baby monitor was a sign that Abby was about to wail and wake the neighbors and her wife.

Akko couldn’t really care less about their neighbors (everyone knew they blast loud music whenever Abby was having her afternoon nap so she didn’t care if they woke up to a baby crying) but Diana needed all the sleep she could get. She needed at least four hours of sleep every night or else she would fall asleep at work again and Hannah would berate Akko for tiring her wife – and not in a good way.

So, Akko quietly slipped out of bed – she knew how to be stealthy _and_ careful now thanks to Abby – and padded to their daughter’s room.

The sound of the door opening quieted Abby in the middle of a hiccup and she turned her head to look at her okaasan with wide eyes.

“Hey there, little cabbage,” Akko whispered in the dark as she walked towards her daughter and gently took her into her arms.

Abby’s crimson eyes were wide and teary and Akko couldn’t help the smile that graced her lips at seeing her daughter looking like someone took her favorite toy. She didn’t even have a favorite toy in the first place (Diana’s hair didn’t count).

“You hungry?” Akko asked, one arm cradling Abby while the other gently tickled her daughter’s side.

The action made Abby’s chubby cheeks puff out in a toothless smile.

Akko grinned at seeing the adorable expression. _Kuso,_ she loved this kid. “Oh, you look just like your mother.” Despite Abby inheriting Akko’s red eyes, she practically took everything else from Diana – from the wispy curls of her blonde green hair down to the regal slopes of her nose and lips.

She really looked like a miniature Diana – but with crimson eyes. She couldn’t believe they actually brought a child into this world. And with magic, no less.

As if sensing her okaasan’s attention was no longer solely focused on her, Abby’s face scrunched into the beginnings of an outburst.

“Oh, no, sweetie.” Akko begins swaying to a tune only she could hear. She’d learned that her daughter loved being moved around when she was being lulled to sleep, so Akko had learned to improvise. Especially during nights when Diana was too exhausted to be on night duty. “Your mom needs sleep, we gotta be quiet.”

Abby just looked at her with still wide eyes. She still looked as if she was ready to burst out crying but Akko knew that the expression on her face was of curiosity. Babies were always curious, that was what the pediatrician said. It was normal.

“Did you have nightmares?” Akko asked. “Or are you hungry? You still haven’t answered my question earlier, cabbage.”

Abby giggled at her before her stubby little arms lifted up and started reaching for her okaasan’s face.

The attempt to pull Akko down to her face was amusing especially since she can’t even reach her to begin with and Akko chuckled under her breath. “So demanding,” she whispered even as she leaned down so Abby could slap her cheeks. Slap being an operative word. It was more of a tap with how little her hands still were.

Did she already mention that she loved this child with everything she had? Because she did. The moment Akko first laid eyes on Abby was the moment she knew that if magic was a wonderful thing, then seeing her own child in the flesh was the greatest thing in the world. Abby was in a league of magic all on her own.

Except, of course, when she pooped.

No wonder she was about to cry. Akko would’ve, too, at the mere smell. Abby must have been really uncomfortable.

“Oh, you stinker.” Akko scrunched her nose at the smell before she gently laid Abby down on her cradle to change her nappy.

She loved her daughter to bits but she swore that changing her nappy was her least favorite responsibility. But Akko reminded herself that if she didn’t do this, then Abby would cry again and that just wouldn’t do. Diana couldn’t afford to be awakened by their daughter’s cries and her wife’s inability to change a nappy.

Once done with the changing, Akko lifted Abby into her arms again and started singing a quiet song to lull her back to sleep.

Years of being a performer taught Akko a lot of things and they now came in handy when it comes to rocking her daughter to sleep.

She just hoped her singing and movements weren’t too loud to wake Diana up.

When she turned around in the midst of singing though, she was greeted with the sight of her wife looking gorgeous with her nightgown creased and hair a curly mess, leaning against the doorway with a small smile playing at her lips.

“Hey, babe,” Akko greeted her as softly as she could. Abby was now dozing in her arms. If she woke up again, Akko didn’t think it would be easy to put her to sleep again.

Diana only smiled wider at her before straightening and walking towards her wife and daughter.

Akko watched Diana come up in front of her before asking, “Woke you up, didn’t I?”

“I was half-awake when you slipped out of bed,” Diana admitted, her voice quiet. They both knew how grumpy Abby got when her sleep was interrupted so they had to be careful with their volume.

One of Diana’s hands came up to rest on Akko’s waist while the other gently caressed the wispy hairs on Abby’s head. “Was she hungry?”

“Had to change her nappy,” answered Akko, attention caught by the gentle tracing of Diana’s fingers on their daughter’s forehead. Her touch was so featherlight Akko doubted Diana’s fingers were even touching Abby’s skin.

But she knew better than to comment. Diana treated Abby like fine china. Even when she was still in her womb, Diana was careful and meticulous with every single thing – from food, to liquid intake, exercise, and vitamins.

Akko thought that if it was her turn to carry their child, then Diana would be the same as well – or even stricter knowing Akko’s obsession with sweets.

The silence engulfing the room was interrupted by Diana saying, “Tonight was my duty.”

Akko hummed. “I know.”

“Akko.” Her tone was reprimanding.

But it wasn’t as though Akko wasn’t used to it. They’d been married for six years now – she knew how to deal with every tone Diana ever used. “Diana.”

“I can do it,” Diana insisted. She didn’t have to raise her voice to let Akko know that she was a little irked.

But if Akko knew how to handle baby tantrums, then she was an expert on handling her wife’s temper and persistence. “You need sleep. You’re working again while I’m still on leave. I can nap in the afternoons.”

The argument only made Diana frown at her. “We promised we’d do this together.”

“I know. You take care of Abby during afternoons, don’t you?” Akko gave her a smile to ease her worries.

Diana was still not content with that, however. “I know my morning work can’t be avoided most times but I –”

“They need you at the ministry, Diana.” Sensing that this couldn’t be easily resolved, Akko had to shift tactics. “Give our little cabbage a kiss now.”

Diana pursed her lips at Akko’s moniker for their daughter – she _hated_ the particular nickname. No surprise there, though, considering how Akko had to do a lot of convincing to be allowed to call Abby Abby instead of Aoi or Bernadette or _Aoi Bernadette._ She loved Diana but calling their daughter with her full name was a mouthful.

Even so, Diana said nothing as she placed a tender kiss on Abby’s forehead. “Sweet dreams, little angel,” she whispered.

The brief interaction was so sweet Akko felt herself tearing up a little. It had been eight months since Abby’s birth but Akko would never get over how _tender_ and _gentle_ Diana got whenever she did something that had to do with Abby.

The featherlight touches whenever Diana had Abby in her arms, the soft and quiet words she greeted their baby with when she got home in the afternoons, the sweet and not-vegetable nicknames she used every single time.

Everything Diana did for Abby, she did it with love.

Mou, Diana even hummed whenever she changed Abby’s nappy!

Before long though, Diana straightened up and caressed Abby’s limp fingers.

At the action, Akko sniffed – she was still holding back tears for some reason – and shifted away from Diana so she could gently lay Abby down on the cradle again. She fixed the blankets and dropped a gentle kiss of her own on her baby’s forehead before straightening up.

When she looked back at Diana, her wife was watching her with a fond smile Akko learned she reserved for whenever Akko _and_ Abby were involved. The look was always enough to make Akko feel sappy and teary-eyed.

She loved her wife and daughter very much, sue her.

Hand in hand, they went out of their daughter’s room and quietly closed the door behind them.

“Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays are _my_ night duty,” Diana said, still in a soft voice, as they quietly padded back to their bedroom.

Akko thought the crisis was averted, kuso. “Babe, come on. I knew you were tired from all the negotiations earlier. And Hannah already scolded me about not letting you sleep at night.” She didn’t try to add that Hannah thought Akko had her up all night doing _adult_ things. _That_ was already hard to come by with their conflicting schedules before and now with Abby waking up at three in the morning? It was safe to say that it happened as rarely as a blue moon.

“You need to sleep. But what’s really bothering you?” Akko asked, feeling like she was still missing something. Diana didn’t push this kind of topic until now so something must have tipped the scales for her.

“I just don’t want you to feel that I’m neglecting my duties to Abby and letting you fend on your own,” Diana admitted once she was seated on the edge of their bed.

Akko wasn’t surprised that Diana quickly confessed what was bothering her. It took a lot of time coaxing Diana to be more open when it came to things that bothered her but once she did, it rarely took a lot from Akko before Diana was opening up to her.

She was glad this time was no different.

“Babe, no,” Akko said before walking towards Diana. She kneeled in front of her then took her wife’s hands in hers. “I would _never_ think that. I know how important your job is at the ministry. And I know you’re already sacrificing a lot by working less hours than before.”

“ _You’re_ on leave,” Diana pointed out with an uncharacteristic pout.

She shouldn’t but Akko smiled at the expression on her wife’s face. Gods, she loved this woman so much and sometimes she couldn’t believe they were actually _married._ Like it still felt too good to be true even after _years_ of marriage and Akko considered herself as the luckiest woman on –

_Wait, no. Focus._

“I’m a performer. I don’t have an office job with strict hours,” Akko explained with a shrug even though she knew that once she got off her break, it’d be hard to be around all the time. That was the main reason why she was laying low for a while or until Abby was old enough _or_ until Diana could finally be convinced to fly with her during her overseas tours.

Akko thought it would be easier now to do so, considering that now they had Abby to factor in as well.

“You’re not neglecting your duties to me or to Abby,” Akko reassured when Diana only sighed at her earlier statement.

Another sigh, this time, it sounded heavier and it tugged at Akko’s heart seeing Diana like this. She knew Diana wanted to be home all the time, but half a year away from work was already too much – _especially_ because she was the head of the medicinal department of the magic ministry

Diana’s words were barely above a whisper and if it weren’t for how quiet the room was, Akko would’ve strained to hear her. “I want to be a good mother to her, Akko.”

Of course, _that_ was Diana’s main worry. They both knew that carrying Abby for nine months and going through a painstaking ten-hour labor ( _already with_ the help of magic) aren’t the only aspects of being a ‘good’ mother.

But Akko knew without a shred of doubt that Diana was already a good mother to Abby. Who cared if she sometimes missed night duty? She was always present for Abby’s checkups – sometimes even missing important meetings just to be there, she always took the time to bathe, feed, and play with Abby whenever she could, and she would always take the time to tell her bedtime stories even though Akko thought Abby barely understood anything.

Missing night duties didn’t mean that Diana was a bad mother.

“You already are,” Akko reassured her, rubbing her thumbs on the backs of Diana’s hands to help her relax. She knew the action always helped with easing Diana’s mind. “The fact that your worrying about this shows how much you care.”

“I love you,” Diana whispered softly, voice filled with affection. “And I love Abby, it’s just – work is so…”

Akko smiled at her wife in understanding. “You took _eight_ months off, babe. Once you’re all caught up, you can have the night duties again, ‘kay? I’m sure Abby doesn’t even know which mother takes care of her in the middle of the night.”

At her wife’s teasing tone, a small smile played at Diana’s lips. “Thank you, darling. What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“A lot of good things probably.” Akko grinned before standing up and all but tackling Diana down on the bed. Diana breathlessly laughed and reprimanded Akko around a giggle.

Once they were comfortable – with Diana tucked securely against Akko’s chest with her arm around her waist and Akko’s around her shoulders – Akko said, “I love you so much. You’re the best wife and the second best mom.”

Diana lifted her head to arch a brow at Akko’s statement. “Second best?”

“Because _I_ am the best.”

She got a playful slap on her chest at that but her teasing also got a laugh from Diana so it was a win-win, really.

There was nothing more beautiful than her wife’s laughter and their daughter’s smile.

Akko really was the luckiest woman.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> And happy Diakko Week 2020 to you all! <3


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